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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. On what part of the area did Leon arrive when he first came to the United States?

2. What is the one fact of Leon's life that he cannot document with any certainty because of so many aliases?

3. What is the American restaurant the sisters go to in order to avoid Chinatown?

4. Who tells Leon that he cannot go into the place where he wants to go?

5. Nina rescues Lelia by offering to take Mah to ________________.

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Nina not necessarily share in the crush that Zeke has on her according to this chapter?

2. Why is Lynette Yee getting upset with Leila and her actions at this point of the story?

3. What does Leon want to do with his newly received $25 from working in the kitchen at the lunch rush?

4. What has Leon done to the light he has invented, which Leila turns on when she notices Mah?

5. How does Nina propose to help Leila with the situation with Mah?

6. Why does Leon let Leila take him to him to sign up for Social Security at the start of this chapter?

7. Though she wants to, what is the one thing that Leila does not say to Mason when he gets upset about work?

8. Why does Leon tend to keep old things, even if they are not useful anymore?

9. What does Leila see when she tries to sneak in without seeing or speaking to Mah?

10. Who is You Thin Toy, Leila's favorite of all of Leon's fleabag friends?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Leila seems to be the character who gets put into the middle of a number of situations in the story.

Part 1: Why do you think that Leila is often put into the middle of situations within this story?

Part 2: Is there another character in the story who might be a better mediator? Why or why not?

Part 3: Why is Leila resentful of being the one who has to mediate some situations?

Essay Topic 2

As with any story and the reading of any story, one must ask whether they can trust the narrator to tell them the truth and to help them understand the characters.

Part 1: Why is Leila the best choice to be the narrator of this story?

Part 2: Do you think the readers can trust Leila to tell the story fairly and in an unbiased way?

Part 3: How might the story have changed if it was told from the viewpoint of Mah?

Essay Topic 3

The suicide in this novel seems to be the one event which pulls everyone together, while at the same time driving them all apart.

Part 1: Why do you think the suicide affects Leon in the way it does?

Part 2: How do you think Leila has been changed by the suicide of Ona?

Part 3: Why do you think Ona decided to kill herself?

(see the answer keys)

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